Categories
Everything Compliance

Episode 58-the Coronavirus edition


Welcome to the only roundtable podcast in compliance. Today, we have a serving of Jonathan Armstrong, Jay Rosen, Matt Kelly, special guest Jonathan Marks and Tom Fox with an episode dedicated to the Coronavirus health crisis and its impact on the compliance profession. Rants and shouts outs follow the commentary for this episode.

  1. Tom Fox goes into his nuts and bolts toolbox to lay some actions a CCO or compliance professional can consider at this point in the Coronavirus health crisis.
  2. Jonathan Armstrong reviews data privacy and data protection issues in the time of Coronavirus.
  3. Jay Rosen explains why culture assessments are so critical at this point and how to perform them remotely.
  4. Matt Kelly looks at what businesses will need to consider going forward as self-isolation restrictions ease.
  5. Jonathan Marks considers crisis management in the time of Coronavirus and the role of the Board of Directors.

The members of the Everything Compliance are:

  • Jay Rosen– Jay is Vice President, Business Development Corporate Monitoring at Affiliated Monitors. Rosen can be reached at JRosen@affiliatedmonitors.com
  • Mike Volkov – One of the top FCPA commentators and practitioners around and the Chief Executive Officer of The Volkov Law Group, LLC. Volkov can be reached at mvolkov@volkovlawgroup.com
  • Matt Kelly – Founder and CEO of Radical Compliance. Kelly can be reached at mkelly@radicalcompliance.com
  • Jonathan Armstrong –is our UK colleague, who is an experienced data privacy/data protection lawyer with Cordery in London. Armstrong can be reached at armstrong@corderycompliance.com
  • Today’s special guest Jonathan Marks is Partner, Firm Practice Leader – Global Forensic, Compliance & Integrity Services at Baker Tilly. Marks can be reached at marks@bakertilly.com

The host and producer (and sometime panelist) of Everything Compliance is Tom Fox the Compliance Evangelist. Everything Compliance is a part of the Compliance Podcast Network. He can be reached at tfox@tfoxlaw.com
 

Categories
Daily Compliance News

April 16, 2020-the End of Privacy? edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Is the end of privacy here, courtesy Coronavirus? (WSJ)
  • Should Boeing sacrifice now? (Washington Post)
  • Tour or No-Tour (does anyone know?) (WSJ)
  • BAT under criminal investigation. (Reuters)
Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

The Integrity Audit


Yet another way to consider using audit for continuous improvement is through the Integrity Audit. Mary Jo White in an article entitled “What I’ve Learned About White Collar Crime” provided insight into not only white-collar criminals but the integrity of companies. Her framework lays out a way for you to think through an underutilized tool for continuous improvement, the integrity audit.When Mary Jo White or Jonathan Marks write, you need to read, digest what they have to say and implement their suggestions. The ideas that they forward are not new, revolutionary or in the least bit controversial. Yet integrity is not often considered by compliance professionals. With the Business Roundtable’s Statement of Corporate Purpose integrity has been driven to the forefront in the rasion d’etre of a corporation. Failing to have integrity at the top or down through your organization can lead to significant corporate calamity.
Three key takeaways:

  1. The Integrity Audit is an underutilized tool.
  2. Ego and arrogance at the CEO level can lead to catastrophic corporate failures.
  3. A robust report culture can demonstrate and facilitate corporate integrity.
Categories
Compliance and Coronavirus

Ryan Wilkins on Corporate Governance During Coronavirus Health Crisis


Welcome to the newest addition to the Compliance Podcast Network, Compliance and Coronavirus. As the Voice of Compliance, I wanted to start a podcast which will help to bring both clarity and sanity to the compliance practitioner and compliance profession during this worldwide health and healthcare crisis. In this episode, I am joined by Ryan Wilkins, shareholder at the law firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. We discuss some of the corporate governance issues raised by the coronavirus health crisis, specifically around public company filings.
For more information on Wilkins and the law firm of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, check out their website here. They also have an excellent Coronavirus Resource page on their website and it can be found here.
This podcast is sponsored by SAI Global. To learn how you can protect your business operations and workforce during these uncertain times, visit saiglobal.com/risk for free resources, expert guidance, and industry-leading technology.

Categories
Great Women in Compliance

Anastasia Savvateeva-Global Compliance is a New Adventure Every Day


Welcome to the Great Women in Compliance Podcast, co-hosted by Lisa Fine and Mary Shirley. In this episode of Great Women in Compliance, Lisa speaks with Anastasia Savvateeva.  This episode was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic, and Anastasia had not yet started her new role as Senior Compliance Officer at Pictet Group.
Anastasia is a globetrotter – she was born in Ukraine, moved to Moscow, and received education and started her compliance career in France, before moving to Luxembourg earlier this year.  Anastasia’s global perspective, particularly working in France, is one that is valuable for any of us that are trying to build a compliance community in a global organization.
Anastasia just completed a role at Deutsche Bank and she experienced working in a compliance department that is now under pressure from a very public compliance issue.
In a time where many compliance officers wear many hats, Anastasia talks about the many roles we have every day – and compares them to some unforgettable characters in books and movies.  There are some really fun analogies, and maybe provides they provide some ideas for your enjoyment during this time of staying at home.
Join the Great Women in Compliance community on LinkedIn here.

Categories
Compliance Into the Weeds

Hotline Benchmark Report


Compliance into the Weeds is the only weekly podcast which takes a deep dive into a compliance related topic, literally going into the weeds to more fully explore a subject. In this podcast Matt Kelly and Tom Fox take a deep dive into the hotline benchmark report from Navex Global which was previewed on a recent webinar Matt attended. Some of the data was quite interesting and perhaps even troubling.
Some of the highlights include:

  • Case closure times are longer this year. Why are they lengthening?
  • The five top categories of cases reported.
  • Reports via online reporting v. telephone call nearly doubled.
  • Reports of violations of business integrity violations are on the uptick.
  • The #MeToo movement is over two years old, what do the numbers reveal?

Resources
Matt Kelly blog post, Report: Hotline Cases Taking More Time

Categories
Daily Compliance News

April 15, 2020-the (Non) Tax Day edition


In today’s edition of Daily Compliance News:

  • Are monitors hobbled? (WSJ)
  • US repatriates $300 stolen money to Malaysia. (DOJ Press Release)
  • Former Goldman exec charged with ‘egregious’ FCPA violations. (FCPA Blog)
  • Will Texas institution oil production limits? (WaPo)
Categories
The Compliance Life

Changing Culture Through Creative Communication with Russ Berland


Russ Berland is back on this episode of The Compliance Life to share how he uses creative communication to change compliance culture.
Changing Culture at BearingPoint
Tom Fox credits Russ with being one of the first persons to come up with a compliance movie. Russ relates that the lack of an integrated culture was one of the biggest issues at BearingPoint in 2007. His goal was to build company culture, and expectations around the same. Research suggested that they should start with their training, so Russ and his team came up with the idea of a series of videos – a “mockumentary” – similar to The Office. The team gathered stories from employees, which became inspiration for the script.
The first series of videos about the fictional Agreva Group was a phenomenal success. Russ relates that the “magic for us was that because they were our own stories, the people at BearingPoint recognized them and empathized with them…” After each six minute episode, a senior official would talk about the policies that applied to the situation portrayed in the video, and what the characters should have done. Russ comments that the training was the talk of the company: people eagerly looked forward to the release of the next episode, and diagnostic surveys showed marked cultural change as a result. One of their employees even became a local celebrity from acting in the series. They subsequently created a column and a second series of videos.
Tom comments that using the employees’ stories not only made them more targeted and engaged in the series, but also allowed Russ to gather information. Their post-diagnostic surveys helped them to measure the effectiveness of the training. Russ adds that engaging the senior leadership to talk on the videos made them the mouthpiece for the culture they were trying to create, while setting the tone from the top.
Resources
Aventiv Technologies

Categories
EMBARGOED!

EMBARGOED! Episode 5: Fantastically Astute Questions (and Answers)

In EMBARGOED!’s inaugural FAQ episode, Brian and Tim tackle a wide array of questions and give actual, coherent answers (or try to, anyway; you decide). Questions cover: brand new restrictions on U.S. exports of PPE in response to the COVID-19 crisis; other COVID-19-related export control considerations in the medical research field; the U.S.’s proposed democratic transition framework for Venezuela and prospects for sanctions relief; a significant sanctions penalty out of the U.K. against Standard Chartered; the three most notable aspects of the “weird” Cuba sanctions program; prospects for leniency from U.S. enforcers for trade-related violations during the COVID-19 crisis; and is it possible to sue your way off the SDN List?

Like what you hear? Please subscribe! * Apple Podcasts * Spotify *  Amazon Music  * Google Podcasts * Stitcher
Questions? Contact us at podcasts@milchev.com.
EMBARGOED! is not intended and cannot be relied on as legal advice; the content only reflects the thoughts and opinions of its hosts.
EMBARGOED! is intelligent talk about sanctions, export controls, and all things international trade for trade nerds and normal human beings alike, hosted by Miller & Chevalier Members Brian Fleming and Tim O’Toole. Each episode will feature deep thoughts and hot takes about the latest headline-grabbing developments in this area of the law, as well as some below-the-radar items to keep an eye on. Subscribe for new bi-weekly episodes so you don’t miss out!
Timestamps:
0:12 Introduction
Questions and Answers
3:23 FAQ 1: Under FEMA’s newly issued Temporary Rule restricting the export of certain categories of personal protective equipment (PPE), the prospects of ultimately obtaining approval from FEMA seem dim. What, if anything, should I do before attempting to export such items from the U.S.?
18:20 FAQ 2: I work in the medical research field. Given the unprecedented level of collaboration and coordination going on right now across the global research community relating to COVID-19, are there any specific U.S. export control related considerations I need to be aware of?
24:50 FAQ 3: I’ve seen recent press reports detailing the U.S. proposal for a transitional government in Venezuela. Assuming that proposal, or something resembling it, were to be adopted, would U.S. sanctions targeting Venezuela go away?
37:28 FAQ 4:For years, sanctions watchers have been speculating whether a non-U.S. enforcer would step up and take aggressive action in a manner that would demand attention at or near that given to OFAC. With the big penalty levied against Standard Chartered by OFSI in the U.K., has that day finally come?
48:46 FAQ 5: Despite being the oldest of the U.S. sanctions programs, or perhaps precisely because it is the oldest, the Cuba program seems to be the most consistently misunderstood and misinterpreted. What are the three most interesting or important aspects of this unique program that people should keep in mind when evaluating Cuba sanctions questions?
59:05 FAQ 6: I am a trade compliance professional at a multinational company. Given the state of the current global economy, my company has been forced to consider a number of transactions – both to address supply chain disruptions and increase liquidity – with unfamiliar parties and on timelines that are unprecedented. How worried should I be that the company (or even me personally) is going to open itself up to exposure if we miss something in the course of what feels like a constant cycle of hyper-speed due diligence?
1:06:47 FAQ 7: I saw recently that an Iranian company lost its case in federal district court challenging its inclusion on the SDN List. How often are SDNs actually successful in suing their way off the List?
1:18:15 Final Thoughts
***Stay sanctions free.***

Categories
31 Days to More Effective Compliance Programs

The Fraud Audit


Consider how a fraud audit using data analytics can help to detect or prevent bribery and corruption where the primary sales force used by a company are China based employees defrauding their company by using false expense reports to create a pot of money to use as a slush fund to pay bribes. Here you can think back to the Eli Lilly FCPA enforcement action up to the GSK problems as examples of where employees used their expense accounts not for personal use but for greater corporate malfeasance.
This double dipping technique led to two anti-bribery compliance enforcement actions. One in the U.S. involving Eli Lily and a second in China involving the U.K. pharmaceutical entity GSK. The risk is real and by using ongoing data monitoring you might not only get ahead of the legal violation, but you would have a much more efficient business process going forward.
Three key takeaways:

  1. The typical fraud audit will get down into the weeds with data analytics.
  2. Split dollar expenses are key metric.
  3. Double-dipping can lead to larger problems.